House work on healthcare bill, abortion amendment postponed until Wednesday

Debate on that amendment turned into a nearly two-hour affair, culminating in a Democratic objection to Republican attempts to move the debate along. That delay prompted Republicans to hold a vote on the two amendments it had fully debated, and delay further debate until later Tuesday evening.

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The House ended up voting against two Democratic amendments, one from Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), and one from Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.). Both would have required studies on the effect of the bill on the quantity of primary care physicians in the U.S., and both were rejected in mostly party-line votes.

Just before 7 p.m., the House moved to an hour of debate on H.R. 1540, the National Defense Authorization Act. At about 8 p.m., the House is expected to return to a debate on amendments to H.R. 1216, but votes on those amendments -- including the abortion amendment -- are now expected Wednesday.